For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Coca-Cola HBC (CCHGY) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Coca-Cola HBC is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 177 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Coca-Cola HBC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCHGY's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, CCHGY has returned 39.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 12.9% on average. This shows that Coca-Cola HBC is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Heineken NV (HEINY) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 15%.

For Heineken NV, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Coca-Cola HBC belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, which includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #63 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 13% so far this year, so CCHGY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Heineken NV, however, belongs to the Beverages - Alcohol industry. Currently, this 17-stock industry is ranked #207. The industry has moved +3.6% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Coca-Cola HBC and Heineken NV as they could maintain their solid performance.

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Coca-Cola HBC (CCHGY):Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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